Constipation is a common problem in hospitalized patients; however, the relative risks of its development with various factors have not been clariˆed. To clarify the risk factors associated with constipation, we performed a case-controlled study of 165 hospitalized patients who were not laxative users on admission. They were divided into case (n=35) and control (n=130) groups according to laxative administration during hospitalization. Comparison of the patient backgrounds in the two groups revealed signiˆcant diŠerences in the activities of daily living, length of fasting, rest level on admission, cerebrovascular disease, and administration of hypnotics. Multiple logistic regression analysis using thesê ve factors as autonomous variables showed that administration of hypnotics (odds ratio, 2.79; 95% conˆdence interval, 1.10 7.06; p=0.031) was signiˆcantly related to laxative use. Therefore, the administration of hypnotics may be the principal cause of constipation development in hospitalized patients and they should be used with caution.
A case control study was performed with 142 leukemia patients and 284 controls matched for age and sex. Occupation, birth order, past medical history, and drinking and smoking habits were compared in these two groups. Persons born first or fourth were found to have a higher incidence of leukemia. History ofa fracture was one of the risk factors for acute leukemia, and a history of gastroduodenal ulcer was a risk factor for chronic leukemia. This maysuggest that extensive exposure to X-rays in diagnosis and treatment is a risk factor for leukemia. There was a significant dose-response relationship between the amount of smoking and the incidence of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, but not between the amount of alcohol consumption and the incidence of leukemia. Thus, smokingwas one of the risk factors for acute leukemia.
We propose a method for measuring the temperature distribution in space using ultrasound computerized tomography (CT). We verified by simulations and experiments that reconstruction of the air temperature distribution is possible using a time of flight profile. Good experimental results were obtained in the reconstruction of a point heat source 30° hotter than room temperature in an area of 100 mm × 100 mm using ultrasound with a frequency of 40 kHz.
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